• ESPN and Uninterrupted, the digital media company founded by LeBron James and Maverick Carter, will debut an original series, More Than An Athlete, Nov. 20, exclusively on ESPN+. The eight-episode series follows James’ journey from basketball prodigy to global sports icon, businessman and philanthropist via the bonds of friendship and partnership among four men over more than two decades: James, Carter, Randy Mims and Rich Paul.

• The NFL and Mexico's President-Elect Andrés Manuel López Obrador confirmed that the third game of the existing agreement signed in 2016 will be played in 2019 at Estadio Azteca. The date and time of the game will be determined in conjunction with the release of the 2019 NFL schedule next spring

• NBC Sports and the Premier League are partnering to present their second Premier League Mornings Live, scheduled to take place in New York on Saturday, Dec. 8. The event will include a turf pitch, the Premier League trophy, club mascots and special guests. The initial fan fest in September was attended by more than 2,000 on a rooftop overlooking the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C.

• Between now and Nov. 19, every use of #SaluteToService on Twitter will generate a $5 donation, up to $5 million, to the NFL’s military non-profit partners – including the Pat Tillman Foundation, TAPS, USO, Wounded Warrior Project and the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

January 28, 2016: When the WNBA launched in April 1996 and began play in June 1997, there were critics aplenty who foresaw a short live for the NBA's distaff partner.

On May 14, the WNBA is scheduled to begin its 20th season of play, still facing critics, dealing with growth issues and other challenges, but solid with players, marketing partners and a rabid fan base.

A new multi-media campaign, "Watch Me Work," touts not only current stars such as 2015 MVP Elena Delle Donne, WNBA Finals MVP Maya Moore, WNBA Defensive Player of the Year Brittney Griner, Sue Bird, Diana Taurasi (who missed the 2015 season to focus on playing for UMMC Ekaterinburg in the Russian Premier League), Skylar Diggins and Candace Parker, but looks back at the players who drove the league and inspired players through its first two decades.

The 2015 anthem campaign was "Watch Me."

Last year, the WNBA faced several significant hurdles, including the departure of president Laurel Richie "to pursue other interests," (NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum has been overseeing the WNBA on an interim basis), soft attendance and criticism from NBA commissioner Adam Silver.

"I think we might have been ahead of ourselves 20 years ago in terms of what we were doing, (In 2015, interest is) not where we hoped it would be," Silver said during a sports marketing conference in September. "We thought it would have broken through by now. We thought ratings and attendance would be higher.”

According to Silver, "In terms of our marketing overall, we may have lost our way at certain points."

To Silver's point, the WNBA's average attendance in 2015 was 7,318, the lowest in league history. The average was down 3% from 2014 and down from a one-season high average of 10,864 in 2009.

Silver later clarified that he and the NBA were very supportive of the WNBA. "We are 100% committed to the league," he said.

Also supportive of the league are a roster of national marketing partners.

WNBA Tip-Off 2016 will be presented by Verizon. It consists of 12 games over nine days — May 14-22 — including the home opener of every team.

Samsung was the presenting partner for both the 2015 WNBA MVP and Defensive Player of the Year.

Among the changes this season, the Tulsa Shock have relocated and rebooted as the Dallas Wings.

The 2016 season features a new regular-season schedule highlighted by more cross-conference games.

In addition, the playoffs will no longer be divided into the Eastern and Western conferences. Instead, the top eight teams by winning percentage will make the playoffs and will be seeded 1 through 8 by record.

As happened during the 2004, 2008 and 2012 seasons, the WNBA take a break in the schedule for the Summer Olympics, during which the U.S. will seek its sixth consecutive gold medal in women’s basketball,

With as many as 25 WNBA players likely to represent their respective countries at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Aug. 5-21, the league has not scheduled any games from July 23-Aug. 25, also forgoing this season's All-Star Game.